presentation of female characters in hamlet

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presentation of female characters in hamlet

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Though there are only two traditionally female characters in Hamlet — Ophelia and Gertrude —the play itself speaks volumes about the uniquely painful, difficult struggles and unfair fates women have suffered throughout history. Written in the first years of the 17th century, when women were forbidden even from appearing onstage, and set in the Middle Ages, Hamlet exposes the prejudices and disadvantages which narrowed or blocked off the choices available to women–even women of noble birth. Hamlet is obsessive about the women in his life, but at the same time expresses contempt and ridicule for their actions—actions which are, Shakespeare ultimately argues, things they’re forced to do just to survive in a cruel, hostile, misogynistic world.

Gertrude and Ophelia are two of Hamlet ’s most misunderstood—and underdeveloped—characters. Hamlet himself rails against each of them separately, for very different reasons, in misogynistic rants which accuse women of being sly seductresses, pretenders, and lustful schemers. What Hamlet does not see—and what men of his social standing and his time period perhaps could not see if they tried—is that Gertrude and Ophelia are products of their environment, forced to make difficult and even lethal decisions in an attempt to survive and stay afloat in a politically dangerous world built for men, not for women. When Gertrude’s husband, King Hamlet, dies, she quickly remarries his brother, Claudius —who actually murdered him. There are two possibilities: the first is that Gertrude knew about the murder, and the second is that she didn’t. The text suggests that while Gertrude was likely not directly involved in the murder, she was aware of the truth about Claudius all along—and chose to marry him anyway. While Hamlet accuses his mother of lusting after her own brother-in-law, killing her husband, and reveling in her corrupted marriage bed with her new spouse, he fails to see that perhaps Gertrude married Claudius out of fear of what would happen to her if she didn’t. Gertrude, as a woman, holds no political power of her own—with her husband dead, she might have lost her position at court, been killed by a power-hungry new or foreign king, or forced into another, less appealing marital arrangement. Marrying Claudius was perhaps, for Gertrude, the lesser of several evils—and an effort just to survive.

Ophelia’s trajectory is similar to Gertrude’s, in that she is forced into several decisions and situations which don’t seem to be of her own making, but rather things she must do simply to appease the men around her and retain her social position at court. When Ophelia is drawn into her father Polonius and Claudius’s plot to spy on Hamlet and try to tease the reason behind his madness out of him, she’s essentially used as a pawn in a game between men. Polonius wants to see if Hamlet’s madness is tied to Ophelia, and so asks Ophelia to spurn Hamlet’s advances, return gifts and letters he’s given her in the past, and refuse to see or speak with him anymore to see test his hypothesis. Ophelia does these things—and incurs Hamlet’s wrath and derision. Again, as with his mother, he is unable to see the larger sociopolitical forces steering Ophelia through her own life, and has no sympathy for her uncharacteristic behavior. After the death of her father—at Hamlet’s hands—Ophelia loses her sanity. Spurned by Hamlet, left alone by Laertes (who is off studying in France, pursuing his future while his sister sits at court by herself) and forced to reckon with the death of her father—after Hamlet, her last bastion of sociopolitical protection—she goes mad. Even in the depths of her insanity, she continues singing nursery songs and passing out invisible flowers to those around her, performing the sweet niceties of womanhood that are hardwired into her after years of knowing how she must look and behave in order to win the favor of others—specifically men. Indeed, when Ophelia kills herself, it is perhaps out of a desire to take her fate into her own hands. A woman at court is in a perilous position already—but a madwoman at court, divorced from all agency and seen as an outsider and a liability, is even further endangered. Though Ophelia kills herself, she is perhaps attempting to keep her dignity—and whatever shreds of agency she has left at the end of her life—intact.

Gertrude and Ophelia are subject to paternalistic condescension, sexual objectification, and abuse. They are also subject to the constant psychological and emotional weight of knowing that no matter how dehumanizing and cruel the treatment they must face at court may be, things are even worse for women of lower social standings—and if the two of them don’t keep in line, lose their positions at court and face far worse fates. Gertrude and Ophelia make the decisions they make out of a drive simply to survive—and yet Hamlet never stops to imagine the weighty considerations which lie behind both women’s actions.

Women ThemeTracker

Women Quotes in Hamlet

Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not “seems.”

Frailty, thy name is woman!

Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me…

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Social Sciences

This ability to create upheaval increases in accordance with the amount of power an individual may hold within the traditional power structure. If this independence from conventional thought occurs in someone with a high political rank, they potentially have the power to cause a collapse within that structure. A person with little political power who finds protection within the established system has little recourse and is left defenseless when that system collapses. Given their traditionally less visible roles in society, rebellious women stand is sharp contrast to their more compliant sisters.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is the embodiment of cherished femininity. She complies with the system that protects her and thrives within its protective walls. Gertrude stands in striking contrast to Ophelia. She is antithetical to the traditional standard of femininity. Through her refusal to accept the gender based expectations of her time and her defiant actions, Gertrude is ultimately responsible for the downfall of the ordered power structure and brings about her own destruction.

In Shakespeare’s society, the ideal female is cherished for her youth, beauty and purity. These qualities are appreciated and boundaries are set up to protect the ingénue. A compliant young woman accepts these standards and dwells safely in the space created for her. Ophelia is repeatedly praised for her beauty and purity,

“Ophelia, I do wish that your good beauties be the happy cause of Hamlet’s wildness: so shall I hope your virtues will bring him to his wonted ways again,” (III.i.39-43).

Queen Gertrude herself not only thinks the young girl’s looks may be enough to drive her son mad, but she clearly believes that Ophelia’s virtue alone can bring him back again. Clearly, even a young woman who works within the system possesses power in her own right. Her inexperience and compliance are proven in a conversation with her father Polonius. In Act III, she comes to her father for advice about the puzzling nature of Hamlet’s affections. He responds to her earnest requests for guidance by calling her a “green girl,” (I.iii.102), and telling her not to see Hamlet anymore.

She replies: “I shall obey, my lord,” (I. iii. 139). She accepts that she is naïve to the ways of the world and unquestioningly accepts her father’s orders. She relies on the security he provides and she feels comfortable living within it. Upon his death, she is left literally adrift, committing suicide by allowing the weight of her skirts to pull her to a watery grave.

Gertrude defies the standards of her gender. Nowhere in the text is she praised for her beauty; she is older and also never denies her sexuality. She is in no way compliant, and in fact, makes her decisions despite the objections of her son, her religion, and her husband. Upon the announcement of Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius in Act I, Hamlet implies that he thinks her to be common and attacks the veracity of her grief.

She marries Claudius despite his sentiments. Hamlet is disgusted by this remarriage and berates her, accusing her of living “in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,” and of “honeying and making love,” (III.iv.91-92). Gertrude is hurt, but she makes no attempts to deny her son’s charges. She is who she has decided to be; she makes no attempt to show herself as the asexual ideal.

Even more striking is Gertrude’s rebellion against the conditions of her religion and the authority of her husband. Claudius kills his brother, knowing that his best chance at gaining the throne is to marry his “sometime sister,” (I.ii.10). His plan to take the throne is contingent upon marrying Gertrude; he is relying on her defiant spirit to reach his goal. According to the church, marrying one’s brother-in-law constitutes incest, not a minor transgression, to say the least.

Gertrude’s independence brings her new husband to greatness but is also ultimately the cause of his downfall. Claudius has relied on Gertrude’s defiance of blood and God alike. In his arrogance, though, he fails to take into account that by the very virtue of her character, Gertrude would most surely defy him as well.

Hamlet alone stands in the way of Claudius’ unquestioned rule and the king has taken elaborate measures to assure that the prince is poisoned. Gertrude, however, insists on drinking the poisoned wine even after her husband tells her, “do not drink,” (V. ii.86). She falls dead, revealing Claudius’ plan and assuring his death. Her defiance is responsible for causing the death of the king and the disintegration of the hierarchy. Because of her powerful political position, Gertrude’s rejection of her ascribed role has serious consequences.

The patriarchal nature of the social order reinforces and rewards the compliance of women. Ophelia dies by her own hand because she lost her father, for her, the source of both order and authority. Gertrude dies because she was unwilling to bow to authority. She rejects her role as a woman, destroying herself. Through her defiance and rebellion, she takes the order down with her. Women who comply with the social order are lost without it; those who defy it can know no other fortune than to be lost within it.

Rogers, W. J. (2009). "Female Norms and the Patriarchal Power Structure in Shakespeare's Hamlet ." , (11). Retrieved from

Rogers, Wendy J. "Female Norms and the Patriarchal Power Structure in Shakespeare's Hamlet ." 1.11 (2009). < >

Rogers, Wendy J. 2009. Female Norms and the Patriarchal Power Structure in Shakespeare's Hamlet . 1 (11),

ROGERS, W. J. 2009. Female Norms and the Patriarchal Power Structure in Shakespeare's Hamlet . [Online], 1. Available:

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Hamlet — Frailty Thy Name Is Woman: Depiction Of Female Characters In Hamlet

Frailty Thy Name is Woman: Depiction of Female Characters in Hamlet

Categories: Hamlet William Shakespeare

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POWER AND MONARCHY: SHAKESPEARE'S PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN MACBETH AND HAMLET

William Shakespeare began writing and performing plays in the latter quarter of the fifteen hundreds. Elizabeth Tudor began her reign as Queen in 1558, and died on March 23, 1603. Thus, two of the most prominent individuals from sixteenth and seventeenth century English history lived as contemporaries. They interacted with each other at Court. Both walked the streets of London. Shakespeare?s company performed for the Queen. Did such level of interaction between the monarch and the playwright lead to Elizabethan influence on Shakespeare?s writing? Shakespeare does give female protagonists power within many of his plays. In his comedies, the female protagonists act in authoritative ways with success. Yet, these plays do not address the role of women royalty. As concern about the monarch?s gender formed one of the primary social considerations of Shakespeare?s day, one might expect to see these gender considerations revealed in Shakespeare?s writing. Indeed, the popular and politic writer can hardly dissociate himself from societal concerns. In two of Shakespeare?s tragedies, Hamlet and Macbeth, Shakespeare implicitly suggests the danger of women?s involvement in politics at the sovereign level. Through Gertrude?s marriage to Hamlet?s uncle and also through Lady Macbeth?s unbridled political ambition, Shakespeare dramatizes real political concerns that evolved from and during the reign of Elizabeth Tudor. In the characters, Shakespeare reflects political gender anxieties; in the themes, he develops a schema of conflict and chaos erupting from such anxiety, and in the plays? contextual resolutions, he fulfills the desire for a return to state stability through a solidification of the patriarchal system. Hamlet and Macbeth do not make an explicit political argument regarding Elizabeth?s monarchy, but in these plays Shakespeare does invoke the tensions of the day as related to female leadership.

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This research paper examines the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's Hamlet, looking for antifeminist overtones. The study exposes situations that maintain traditional gender stereotypes and suppress female autonomy through an assessment of female characters such as Gertrude and Ophelia. It also looks into the patriarchal power dynamics and societal expectations imposed on women in the play, taking into account the historical and social context. The research, which engages with feminist interpretations and scholarly discourse, provides a complete overview of several perspectives on the subject. This study contributes to the understanding of gender dynamics in literature and stimulates further investigation of gender representation in Shakespeare's tragedies by putting light on Hamlet as a potentially antifeminist work.

ramona chiributa

The history of women’s struggle for equality during the last two centuries is relatively well documented; studies of women’s history often construct a meliorist narrative in which the progress women have made in recent times represents the final stage in a long upward trajectory. Women’s power and authority extended beyond the limits of their families. The example of the Tudor queens Mary and Elizabeth is well known, and the ‘anomaly’ of Elizabeth’s position has been endlessly noted; but they were not the only women who exercised political authority. As owners of boroughs, two of the Queen’s female subjects were able to choose Members of Parliament. Women also possessed considerable economic power, not only through inheritance from fathers and husbands, but also by virtue of their own gainful employment. Women lower on the social scale earned their livings, not only as servants, but also in a variety of trades that took them outside the household. In Shakespeare’s world, inequalitie...

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Portrayal of Women in Hamlet - "Frailty, Thy name is woman"

OP jane0901 1 / 1 May 7, 2014 #3 Oh Thank you, but what about the format is it fine? and what other word can be used instead of using "can be used" because i used manipulation as one of my sub thesis.

/ /

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Role of Women in Twelfth Night and Hamlet by Shakespeare'. 20 May.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Role of Women in Twelfth Night and Hamlet by Shakespeare." May 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-women-in-twelfth-night-and-hamlet-by-shakespeare-research-paper/.

1. IvyPanda . "Role of Women in Twelfth Night and Hamlet by Shakespeare." May 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-women-in-twelfth-night-and-hamlet-by-shakespeare-research-paper/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Role of Women in Twelfth Night and Hamlet by Shakespeare." May 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-women-in-twelfth-night-and-hamlet-by-shakespeare-research-paper/.

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COMMENTS

Women Theme in Hamlet
Though there are only two traditionally female characters in Hamlet — Ophelia and Gertrude —the play itself speaks volumes about the uniquely painful, difficult struggles and unfair fates women have suffered throughout history. Written in the first years of the 17th century, when women were forbidden even from appearing onstage, and set in the Middle Ages, Hamlet exposes the prejudices and ...
The Role of Women in Shakespeare's Hamlet
The Role of Women in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The women of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" appear to be frail, passive figures used as pawns and dying prematurely after the mistreatment of men. However, there is more to Gertrude and Ophelia than meets the eye. Even though Hamlet is certainly not a play based on women, both female characters ...
The portrayal of women in Hamlet
Summary: In Hamlet, women are portrayed as weak and dependent on men. Ophelia and Gertrude are the primary female characters, both of whom are manipulated by male figures in their lives. Ophelia ...
The Power of Women In Hamlet
Hamlet films. According to Cartmell, it is apparent that Zeffirelli explores new avenues for the Hamlet women, creating a more equal female role in the unfurling tragedy of Denmark. Cartmell's suggestion of the "prominence of women," (Cartmell 219), is one that can be soundly formed through close examination of the female roles in this
Women in Shakespeare's Hamlet: Defying Powerlessness
This particularly includes the only women in the play: Queen Gertrude and Ophelia. Born in an era of female insignificance and powerlessness, men were the dictators of their mind, purpose and ...
Female Norms and the Patriarchal Power Structure in Shakespeare's "Hamlet"
Shakespeare Hamlet Traditional Female Roles Patriarchy Power Structure. Socialization is the process by which individuals internalize the mores and norms of the society they live in. It is through this process that the established social order is perpetuated. When individuals fail to accept the beliefs of society as their own, there is then the ...
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Summary: Feminist interpretations of Hamlet often focus on the limited roles and portrayals of female characters, such as Ophelia and Gertrude. These interpretations critique how the women are ...
Women In Hamlet
Women In Hamlet. Shakespeare created an interesting problem for himself with the character of Gertrude. As a dramatist, he needed to nourish the conflict between his characters in order to keep the heat and pressure up to the point where the action was ready to explode at any moment. At the same time, he created a character that sits in the ...
Themes Shakespeare's women Hamlet: AS & A2
Shakespeare's women. Shakespeare's major women characters are usually as Hamlet describes them in Act II Scene 2 lines 302-3: fearless and articulate. We are used to them speaking their minds robustly and virtuously. They challenge erring male authority figures, no matter how terrifying they are. Juliet, Portia, Hermia, Beatrice, Desdemona ...
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Discuss the role of women in Hamlet.
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Discuss the Presentation of Ophelia and Gertrude as Women in Hamlet
First wave feminism argues that women are more morally 'pure' than men, and this justifies their political enfranchisement. However, Gertrude's decision to marry Claudius is, in Hamlet's eyes, amoral and cause political upheaval. To Hamlet, this act demonstrates that 'frailty, thy name is woman'. Thus, her actions speak for her ...
Hearing Ophelia: Gender and Tragic Discourse in 'Hamlet'
stereotyped judgment of women as others, and (2) to read female characters in as real and serious a fashion as the males - as grappling with their identities, needing outlets for their conflicts, and trying to articulate their ... Until the production of The Mousetrap, the presentation of Hamlet and Ophelia, and the discourses allowed them to ...
The Role of Women in Hamlet by Sienna Wong on Prezi
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Power and Monarchy: Shakespeare'S Portrayal of Women in Macbeth and Hamlet
The study exposes situations that maintain traditional gender stereotypes and suppress female autonomy through an assessment of female characters such as Gertrude and Ophelia. It also looks into the patriarchal power dynamics and societal expectations imposed on women in the play, taking into account the historical and social context.
How does Shakespeare's portrayal of women in Hamlet reflect the
Photo by Dalton Smith on Unsplash. The theme of women is a significant one in Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare around 1600. The play is set in a fiercely patriarchal society, and it examines ...
The Woman in Hamlet: An Interpersonal View
tious purpose is to participate in Denmark's disease dividing mind from body, act from feeling, man from woman. Hamlet's tragedy is the forced triumph of filial duty over sensitivity to his own heart. To fulfill various fathers' commands, he has to deny his. self-awareness, just as Gertrude and Ophelia have done.
The Role of Women in Hamlet in William Shakespeare's Play Essay
In Hamlet, the female characters can be seen as being subservient to men. This goes on to show how Shakespeare, goes against the feminist theory by not creating equality between all the characters. One of the main character's Ophelia can be seen as being weak and undermined in the play. She spends most of her time following the actions of her ...
Characters in Hamlet
What follows is an overview of the main characters in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, followed by a list and summary of the minor characters from the play. [1] Three different early versions of the play survive: known as the First Quarto ("Q1"), Second Quarto ("Q2"), and First Folio ("F1"), each has lines—and even scenes—missing in the others, and some character names vary.
Portrayal of Women in Hamlet
jane0901 1 / 1. May 4, 2014 #1. Portrayal of Women in Hamlet. "Frailty, Thy name is woman," quoted by William Shakespeare, alluding to the claimed inherent weakness of women's character. In Hamlet, the roles of women are minor yet essential to the plot and flow of the play. They have no standing in the society and their voices are never heard.
Role of Women in Twelfth Night and Hamlet by Shakespeare ...
The presentation of female characters in Hamlet and Twelfth Night is intriguing. They seem not to fit well in any cast. They seem not to fit well in any cast. In some instances, they portray will-power and assertiveness but, in other instances, they are weak and at the mercy of their male counterparts.
Ophelia's Presentation Of Female Characters In Hamlet
Despite the importance of women in the play "Hamlet", Shakespeare presents female characters as weak, submissive individuals who are subservient to men. Ophelia, a beautiful young woman, is the young daughter of Polonius, the sister of Laertes, and Hamlet's love interest.